MARCH 2012 NEWSLETTER
Preview of our 2012 Plans: One of the underlying principles of bible.org is that we are here to be an arm of the church helping them prepare each believer for the work of the ministry by providing trustworthy biblical resources. Bible.org from its beginning said: “We believe there are core essential beliefs that are fundamental to our faith and we strive to ensure all of our resources remain faithful and consistent to those foundational biblical teachings”.
Clearly we are seeing the evidence of the last days with societies unwilling to call sin sin. God calls us to holiness as His witnesses and to be obedient to Christ's great commission command in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples. Therefore, we must conclude that because of what we are observing,it is critical that bible.org become more active in assisting the Church in becoming that disciple making factory that Christ commanded. We need to bring back the fervor and excitement that marked the first century church.
We know that church growth by addition is not the answer. Churches must become disciple producers. Growth must be by discipleship. Increased membership is not the answer, It is a mathematical fact that if you had 10,000 churches adding 1000 people a year they could never reach the world population. But, if you started with one person and he discipled one other person for a year and that person discipled another for a year and this continued unbroken that in 33 years there would be more than 8.5 billion Christians -- and in 35 yrs over 35 billion. Bible.org along with concerned Christians will have to do something different if we are to turn the tide within our nation and the world. We must ourselves be discipling someone and we must be more involved in identifying Christians and churches who are actively discipling people and are producing the 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation of disciplers as Paul instructed in 2 Timothy 2:2 when he said
“And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well”.
It's time for churches, Christians and bible.org to change course. Thus, we are putting together a team that can help bible.org achieve that direction. We are open for you to join that team if you are passionate about discipleship. We will be communicating our draft plans over the next couple of months and will be posting those plans on the site outlining more fully the strategy. If you are actively involved in discipleship we would like to hear from you and learn from you, share our draft plans with you and get your feedback on what works and what doesn’t in your cultural setting. If you are a church actively producing disciplers and disciples we would like to hear from you. We would like to share your successes and your techniques of "what works" to encourage other churches to follow Christ’s commands. Email us
One of our 2012 goals is to develop tools for nurturing the body of Christ. It is hoped that these tools will assist believers in their next step of faith. Scripture tells us that Christ has commanded us to be responsible stewards of the gifts and talents God has given us for ministering to the body of Christ, starting with discipleship. For the non-Christian, Bible.org is also here to provide resources for those who are seeking Jesus knowing that He is The Way, the Truth, and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
- Listen in and learn about Islam along with Kenneth Boa; do a Devotional on Acts or 1Corinthians along with David Colburn or join SonShine in the New Bible Study Methods course. Hint: SonShine is available for this course via Skype should you be interested; send her a note.
- NET Bible Study Environment Testimonial by one of SonShine’s students, Louis, regarding the Study Tool: “I know you're asleep and you won't get this until much later, but I'm up reading and studying using the environment and I'm really enjoying the notes section that I have. It's perfect for the inductive method that we're learning. I'm putting in my observations and I can compare them with the commentary that's provided next to it. I also love how when I entered a Scripture as a cross reference in my notes it automatically hyperlinked it and I'm able to see the verse by scrolling over it.”
NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT
The ministry staff has been busy meeting with Pastors and sharing about the NET Bible Study Environment. If your church would like a presentation on how to use the NET Study tool be sure to contact Marketing to arrange for a demo and a time to investigate this marvelous tool. We are always open to opportunities to help you use it to its full advantage.
Need a Job? Are you a programmer familiar with Drupal? Bible.org is seeking a Drupal Programmer. If you have a heart for ministry and have the qualifications for this position, please email the Director .
FACEBOOK: We wrote in the February Newsletter: From Dec 31 to Jan 30: our fan status grew from 14,928 to 15,043. From Jan 30 to Feb 29, 2012 our number has grown to 15,315, a growth of 272 in just under one month. Thank you for continuing to draw others to the Facebook page and to share but we have a long way to go to reach our goal of 20,000 for the year 2012. Help us achieve our goal by sharing with others and including us in your personal share page.
BLOGS: We welcome Sarah Bowler to the Children’s Ministry Blog Group. Sarah is pursuing a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. She completed her Undergradu
ate Degree at Moody Bible Institute with a double major in Biblical Studies and Print Media Communications. She is committed to teaching and writing in order to develop disciples who serve and glorify God. We praise God for His way in bringing new people to team with us to minister to the work of Children’s Ministries. Sarah’s blog was about How Pinterest Can Help with Your Sunday School Lesson. Read about it on Heartprints.
We welcome Pastor George Burgin to the Impact Men’s Blog. Pastor George serves as Campus Pastor at the Harvest Church in Billings, Montana. As a youth in Spokane, Washington, Christ stepped into his life and changed it forever. George is committed and dedicated to following Christ and leading others to do as Paul said "follow me as I follow Christ". You can read his first blog titled “Job’s Resolve”. You can also catch him on the users.bible.org site often. 
FORUM: Our nation has become gripped with the onslaught of ideas, thoughts and topics surrounding our President’s health care decisions for the USA population. The Forum on bible.org has also entered into this discussion with ideas and thoughts on this topic.
We extend our sympathy to one of our Forum Moderators, “Pastor John”, in the homegoing of his dear wife Tina. Please pray for Pastor John in his time of grief.
Want to discuss what it means to Balance your Christian walk? Check out Ozzie Harris’ ideas on this subject. On the main site, you can always check on this page for the most recent uploads. “What’s new”. In addition, check out Pastor Jeff Miller’s series on Acts as well as his completed series on Nehemiah. Check out Dianne Miller’s series on Abraham which is now posted and ready. Interested in a video series? Check out Gracepro’s topic of Christian Manhood.
FEBRUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER
God’s attributes are our mighty weapons against the foes we face each day. This month we focus in on His attribute of “Love”. What is love? ISBE defines it as this: Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved. John 3:16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. This self sacrifice is the evidence of true love. Do you know God's love? Share with us how you have seen His love in your life just this past month alone or share with us how you will show God’s love to another who needs His special love touch. Send your notes and ideas to Sonshine. To help you, check out the plethora of articles on bible.org under the topic of “love”. If you dont have time to check them all out, here’s one to whet your appetite along with a touch of humor by Pastor Keith Krell.
SHARING OUR BLESSINGS!MINISTRY NEWS:
Jobs: We are still looking for drupal developers see Jobs with eternal impact
Chinese Project News: Last month we highlighted the start of our Chinese ministry pages showing various tools and news in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese visit http://bible.org.cn .This past month we developed Chinese NET Bible (CNET) e-books, which can be viewed on the iPhone / Android /Nook and Kindle Readers.
Women's Ministry News: Are the women of your church or neighborhood looking for new material that is free and downloadable? Check out Melanie Newton's new study on the book of Acts found on the Women's Bible Study Curriculum Door
NET Bible Editors Support. Our developer, Brian Seagraves, has developed a NET Bible manuscript editor that allows multiple scholars to collaborate on text at the same time. Scholars can edit the English and Chinese NET manuscripts online instead of using Microsoft Word offline. This is a big leap forward allowing us to be error free and much quicker in incorporating your comments and in updating the text on our various sites, platforms, and eBooks.
Path to Spiritual Maturity: The Beta testing of The Path To Spiritual Maturity (new believers section) continues, so feel free to test it out and give us your feedback! Meanwhile, we are developing the framework for further stages so that our development team can be expanded. Please pray that God gives us wisdom as we proceed, and that the right members are brought in so that this can be taken to the next level. For questions or comments contact the project manager here.
SOCIAL NETWORKING Come and join us on Facebook.com/bible.org as we read through the Bible using the Chronological Reading Plan. Tell others of this and watch our numbers grow! May you be blessed as you read through the Bible in 2012.
EXCITING NEWS:Our fan numbers are growing: From Dec 31 to Jan 30: 14, 928 to 15,043. That means in just one month we have added 115 new visitors. Thank you "fans"!THANKS FOR HELPING! THANKS FOR SHARING! THANKS FOR TELLING!
Authors of the Month: This month we bring to your attention the section titled: “What’s New” found on the home page of bible.org."What's New" will display all the new studies and articles that have been uploaded for your use. Check out David Colburn's study on the book of ACTS and Kay Daigle's series on Judges.
Staff
Founder of bible.org
Our founder wants to remain anonymous.Matt 23:11-12. The Lord gave him a vision for developing an Internet pulpit so that gifted teachers could teach to milllions of people by posting their good, solid Bible study materials on the web. In 1994 he founded the Biblical Studies Foundation (also know as bible.org). He grew up in a church in Texas where Hampton Keathley III was pastor for many years. (That is how there came to be so many Keathleys involved in bible.org!)
J. Hampton Keathley IV, Th.M.,
Hampton Keathley IV graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1995 with the Th.M. He is a full time volunteer who wrote the orginial web site when bible.org started in 1995 and the servers were at his house. He serves as the senior webmaster and technical director for the web site. To put it simply he keeps us up and running and fixes things when they break. Hampton is also President of Galaxie Software and contributes studies to the web site.
Michael Garrett, Executive Director
After 30 years in Manufacturing with a green belt in Six Sigma, Michael comes to ministry full time. Michael's background ranges from technical to senior management. He believes that when much is given much is required, so he is following God's voice and plunging deeper into his service.
Sonja Barber - Office Staff
Growing up as a Preacher's Kid she has always know the love of Jesus Christ. She received Jesus into her heart at an early age and has felt his love throughout her life. After working in 'corporate America' for years Sonja has been placed in this position to develop and share her Love for Christ. She strives to show His work in her to all she encounters.
Brian Seagraves - Lead Software Developer and system administrator.
Brian Seagraves has been working for Bible.org since 2006. He enjoys: writing, playing, and recording music; finding unique and elegant solutions to problems; and working on his one-day-to-be-finished Soda Can Throwing Fridge. He is also the owner and developer of SimpleChurchCRM - A church management application. Brian goes to and loves his church in Tallahassee, Fl - Immanuel Baptist.
Jennifer Dent - Full time Christian, wife, mom.
Blessed to have grown up in the Church Jennifer has always found ways to serve others. As an adult she has served in her Church as the Children's Ministry Director, Sunday School coordinator and Children's Choir Director. Married for 14 years with three boys. She is currently the Personnel Manager and the Administrator of the forums as well as the Adminstrator of our users site.
bible.org Staff
Our Founder
Our founder wants to remain anonymous.Matt 23:11-12. The Lord gave him a vision for developing an Internet pulpit so that gifted teachers could teach to milllions of people by posting their good, solid Bible study materials on the web. In 1994 he founded the Biblical Studies Foundation (also know as bible.org). He grew up in a church in Texas where Hampton Keathley III was pastor for many years. (That is how there came to be so many Keathleys involved in bible.org!)
J. Hampton Keathley IV, Th.M., Co-Founder
Hampton Keathley IV graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1995 with the Th.M. He is co-founder of bible.org and serves as webmaster and technical director for the web site. To put it simply he keeps us up and running and fixes things when they break. Hampton is also President of Galaxie Software and contributes studies to the web site.
David Austin, Executive Director
David is a full-time Christian with ministry passion that finds himself working full-time: harnessing the Internet for God and developing Internet tools that will help motivated Christians to be more effective and better able to evangelize and disciple others. He has stated he wants all to be able to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and hear Christ say, Well done my good and faithful servant.
Michael Garrett, Director of Marketing, Sales and Development
Todd Lingren, M.A.
Todd graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1999 with the MA. He works in publications, managing print and electronic publishing, overseeing the online store operations, handling the email, and much more.
Gaye Austin M.A Curriculum developer and volunteer coordinator
Gaye taught 15 years in public schools and 12 years in a Christian school where she was coordinator of the NILD program for learning disabled students). She was a discussion leader for Bible Study Fellowship, and taught Precept upon Precept classes. She has a passion to teach people how to study the Bible so they can develop their own Bible studies for small Bible study groups across all cultures on the globe (2 Tim 2:15).
Below are some of the lead scholars and contributors on the bible.org team.
W. Hall Harris III, Th.M., Ph.D.
Hall is Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where for nearly 30 years he has taught courses in intermediate level Greek grammar and syntax, exegetical method, and master’s and doctoral level courses in the Gospel of John and Epistles of John, as well as courses on the use of computer and Internet tools for biblical exegesis. He is also the Project Director and Managing Editor for the NET Bible translation (New English Translation) and Scholar in Residence at bible.org, acting as a consultant for a number of bible.org’s other ministry areas.
Daniel B. Wallace, Th.M., Ph.D.
Dan is Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where he teaches Greek grammar and syntax, textual criticism, and elective courses in various New Testament books. He is the professor behind the Prof’s Soapbox articles.
Michael Burer, Th.M., Ph.D.
Michael graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1998 with the Th.M. He finished his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies in 2004 and is now Assistant Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is Assistant Project Director and Editor for the NET Bible translation which bible.org is sponsoring.
Robert L. Deffinbaugh, Th.M.
Bob graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1971. He is a teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has been manuscripting his messages for several years. Bob has graciously contributed many of his series for use by bible.org.
Greg Herrick, Th.M, Ph.D.
Greg graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with the Th.M. in 1994 and the Ph.D. in 1999. Greg and his wife are involved in a church planting ministry near Toronto. He has contributed a number of articles to the bible.org website.
Besides these above, there are many, many volunteers, some who have made significant contributions of time, resources and talent. Bible.org is an international ministry, and our volunteer staff from all over the world help make it possible.
We especially remember those who have gone before us in the ministry, without whose dedication to the Lord none of this would have been possible.
J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M.
Hampton Keathley III went home to be with the Lord August 29th, 2002 after a year long battle with cancer. He was a 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years. Hampton wrote for the Biblical Studies Foundation (now known as bible.org) and taught New Testament Greek at Moody Northwest (an extension of Moody Bible Institute) in Spokane, Washington.
Kathie Keathley, Ph.T.
Kathie (wife of Hamp III and mother of Hamp IV) went home to be with her Lord Jan 29, 2001 after an 18 month battle with multiple-myloma. Before she died, she wrote of the lessons she learned through the trial . Kathie was the one who, for the first 5 years, formatted all the documents and converted them to HTML for the website. She handled the e-mail, filled orders, and kept things organized and looking good on the web site. The Ph.T. degree is from Dallas Theological Seminary (Putting Hubby Through).
January Newsletter 2012
January 2012 Newsletter Recapping and Looking Forward The year 2011 saw many new and exciting things happening at bible.org. Jot us a note and let us know what you consider as “the” key blessing you received as a result of using the bible.org website.
Many of you took the challenge to join us in reading through the Bible for an entire year. You are to be commended for your participation and effort! If you are one who chose to do that, please send us a note so we can honor your efforts. In December of 2011, we started posting a summary of the Chronological Reading portion on Facebook.com/bible.org. Don’t miss what we find each day as we read and digest the passages. Add your comments to our Facebook post! Sign up to do the daily Bible reading program by clicking here. OR, perhaps this year you will decide to do more Bible memorization. See Greg Herrick’s article to help you with that desire. Share with us your choices on this webform.
In 2011 these are the marvelous items God has given to bible.org
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New and improved English Bible Study Environment
- New Ministry Partners who are using our Co-Branded Online Study Environment
- Completion of the Chinese NET Bible and the beginning of a Chinese study environment. Check out and pray for this new ministry to the 1.1 billion Chinese speakers in the world see project page
- Web Site Visitors up 40% from 2010 to 2011 and up 50% for the last 6 months compared to last year
- During 2011 we have peaked past 3 million pages views in a month
- Many new relationships and ministry opportunities that were made at the conferences we attended
- Many new writers and bloggers on the users site and in the Children's ministry e.g.Jodi Hooper’s curriculum and Susan Greenwood/Ed Gossein ministry in their Heartprints Blog
- New Seminaries who are using our Greek/NET Diaglot and Study Environment as part of their daily study life
Looking ahead to 2012:
It would take too much space to discuss our plans for 2012 here. Soon we will send out additional detail on our proposed 2012 ministry plans for your input and feedback but for this newsletter let us just say:
- We would like to hire a drupal and php programmer (if interested email jobs)
- We would like to do a Spanish translation of the NET Bible and start a Spanish version of bible.org site . (if you would like to help email us)
- Be thinking and praying about what opportunities you would like us to pursue. For example, ministries where we can use our content and tools and help the local church worldwide. One that we are thinking about doing is a focused discipleship effort to help the local church produce disciples as commanded in the great commission.
GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS/FINANCIAL UPDATE:
Your faithfulness to pray and assist with finances has seen the vision for 2011 come to fruition. We are so blessed to have you join us in this journey. Please know that bible.org is faithful to provide each month an update of where your sacrifices are being used. We consider it a privilege to share this information with you and we look forward to using next year's donations to bring about His Work, His vision, His ministry in His way. Thank you from bible.org.
( ps. editors note: it looks like we will finish 2011 in the black and have monies to do some major projects in 2012.)
Note-** All income (Donations and Bible sales/revenues) are accounted for. The store has outstanding NET Bible debt and sales are being used to meet debt and store expenses. When there is a future profit those profits will be reported as a donation to the foundation. As you have noticed we have turned on limited Google ads to help in the revenue side (no ads on the bible study tool) and we appreciate you telling us the links to inappropriate ads which we immediately block!
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Thank you Facebook visitors. Our numbers are growing! In January of 2011 we had 13,648 Facebook fans who "Liked" us : and at the end of 2011 14,928 Facebook fans "Liked" us. Help us reach the 20,000 mark in 2012.
Blogs: Our readership continues to grow on both our main blog site and the users.bible.org site. (Any user can start their own blog on the users site). We thank you for being faithful to read and comment on our new users blog posts.
Are you learning about the many insights from Hal Warren and Lance Ponder on the men’s blog site? You can join the children's ministry blog site and read the newest installment on what True Worship is by Susan Greenwood. Also Dr. Bock just posted his newest article. Don’t miss a single read!
Read the many new authors that have found and are using the users.bible.org page such as Dr. Steve and Pastor Nate. Pastor Gary has begun a new group for his church: “Bethany Lutheran Bible Study” .Pastors/Teachers, you also can do this for your church or class. Pastor Gary's group will be Reading Through the NET Bible for 2012. Join all of these men as they challenge us to read, think and desire to grow closer to the Lord. On the ladies side, Rebecca Graf is challenging us to join her as she studies the book of James and Christina Wilson is calling us all to reflect on the Psalms.
Authors of the Month: Each month we will be selecting new authors or authors that have new material for us to read and digest. In December of 2011 bible.org added a new series on Ecclesiastes by Pastor Aaron Sturgill; a new audio series on Nehemiah by Pastor Jeff Miller, and his current audio series in Acts. There is a new series by Bob Utley titled: Jesus’ Half-Brothers Speak: James and Jude. Also a new Thanksgiving/Christmas series by Jodi Hooper. To learn more about each of these authors you can go to the articles and click author profile.
2. TTP Ministry Staff
Michael received a bachelor of arts in biblical studies at University of Biblical Studies and Seminary in Bethany, OK. He received a master of theology degree in New Testament Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. Michael is the director of The Theology Program at bible.org. He is also a speaker on Theology Unplugged, a Internet radio broadcast found at bible.org. Michael also is a local pastor at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX where he oversees the Single Adult Ministries and the Theological Studies Dept.
Rhome earned a diploma in biblical studies from Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada; a bachelor of arts degree in history from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., Canada; he received a master of theology degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Rhome also serves as Pastor of Adult Fellowships at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX where his primary responsibility is to provide leadership and support to the leaders and teachers in SCC's adult education. Rhome is an instructor in The Theology Program at SCC and says that his greatest passion is helping people gain a firmer grasp on the truth of Scripture.
Daniel has taught Greek and New Testament courses on a graduate school level since 1979. He has a Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and is currently professor of New Testament Studies at his alma mater. Dan also serves at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX as an instructor to The Theology Program teaching elective courses in New Testaments studies. December 2011 Newsletter
We are in need for people with a ministry heart who would like to impact the world for Christ.( Notice below in the finanical report that our mobile visitors are up 276%)
If you are interested please contact us
WOMEN: On Monday, November 14, the Center for Christian Leadership hosted the sixth annual All about Influence: A Women's Leadership Conference. Part of the conference’s excitement were the 10 workshops offered. One of the workshops was hosted by your bible.org women sharing how to use the internet as a ministry tool. Sandi Glahn shared the tips of the trade from a writer/journalist perspective. Sue Bohlin shared about the newest online missionary program by GMO. And lastly Gaye Austin showed the audience how to use the NET Bible study tool. We thought you might be interested in just one of the comments received back from this workshop: “Inspired by "mature" women who are tech-savvy. Gave us a big picture of influence on the web and yet some practical tools for ways to reach people.” The women of bible.org thank you for the privilege being your representatives for the world of the internet.
CHILDREN: Ed Lee has just finished translating into Chinese "the full Story of God in 60 Stories" for children. Please pray that this be used as a resource for Chinese children. Also pray for us, and Ed in particular, as we continue to build the Chinese resources for the Chinese content.We hope that you are following our Heartprints Bloggers as they offer ideas on holidays, teaching hints, and classroom strategies. Note: we are looking for more to join the Heartprints Blog Team. If you are a blogger, a children’s ministry worker or teacher, send SonShine a sample of your work to be considered.
Forum: The Forum continues to shine as bible.org’s NETWork ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time! Register on the Forum and meet the moderators. We have been blessed with an influx of new members lately and we praise God for each and every one of you! If you have not yet registered at the forum it only takes a minute and we would love to have you.
With the holidays approaching let's gets together and talk about your family traditions in our Christian Living section. Share your family with us as we share our family with yours.
New Partners! - Bible.org has teamed up with Get Motivated Seminars to help spread God's word. Soon you will see the NET Bible on their web site and at their seminars!
FINANCIAL UPDATE:** We thank God for all who donated in the month of October. Your prayers and telling people about bible.org are making a difference. Our traffic is up 56% this year and people visiting us from mobile platforms is up 276%. As you can see we are in the black for the first time this year; PTL. While sales and donations were not sufficient to cover our costs, our decision to run ads is making up the difference and allowing us to add developers so we can expand the site into more languages. Our first major thrust is Chinese. Stay tuned as we launch the Chinese study environment with the new NET Bible with notes in Chinese.
Note-** All income (Donations and Bible sales/revenues) are accounted for. The store has outstanding NET Bible debt and sales are being used to meet debt and store expenses. When there is a future profit those profits will be reported as a donation to the foundation. As you have noticed we have turned on limited Google ads to help in the revenue side (no ads on the bible study tool) and we appreciate you telling us the links to inappropriate ads which we immediately block!
AUTHOR OF THE MONTH:
This month we highlight a new author from the users.bible.org page. Dr. Steve Mentzer has a background of twenty years of pastoral ministry and currently is an instructor for Southern Care Hospice to RNs, Social Workers, Chaplains and Aides. He has authored a new book titled Broken Vows Shattered Lives on divorce recovery. As busy as Dr. Steve is, he has chosen to share from his heart on users.bible.org. His latest will cause you to stop and ponder your Christmas spirit. Read his newest blog: “Trees, Tinsel, Turmoil”.
SOCIAL NETWORKING: KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS
Bloggers: To get you into the Christmas spirit, our bloggers on both the main site and on users have been busy. Check out these newest posts for ideas on how to keep Christ in Christmas.
FACEBOOK: Beginning in December we will be continuing to read through the Bible using the chronological reading plan. Go here and sign up. Then join us by posting your ideas and scriptural principles from the reading each day. We look forward to seeing you there.
January 1, 2013 Newsletter
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Bible.org | 1101 E. Arapaho Rd | Richardson | TX | 75081
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OCTOBER 2011 NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2011: AUTUMN REFLECTIONS
Seasonal changes bring about new and exciting adventures! In the northern hemisphere October ushers in the autumn season with its brilliant colors, cooler temperatures and a return to the fall rains. As we view this change in the seasons it reminds us of the truth of Deut 11:14 “I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains”. Just as God gives us seasonal changes so we at bible.org also are bringing about new and exciting changes for you, our readers, such as updating of the home page, adding or saying goodbye to some of our bloggers, adding new articles and new material so that you may benefit as you prepare for your role in ministry. Be sure to watch for the new and updated “NEWS” block. Participate in the poll’s question: How do you do devotions? Read the daily changes of the blog posts.
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Studies have shown that the average church in America has less than 75 members and a Pastor earns less than $34,000. In addition studies also show that of those 90% work extra jobs to help make ends meet for their families. This is your opportunity to show your pastor that their work is "worth it all". Here are some suggestions for you to implement: a note of encouragement, a monetary gift of any amount with no strings attached, get the church involved to provide a thank you banquet in his honor, provide a get away gift to a bed and breakfast or a retreat; upgrade his office with new furniture. These are just a few ideas. Tell us what you and your church will be doing by filling out the webform called Reflections so we can share your ideas with our readers.
NEWS ITEMS
1- Check out the new series by one of our Impact Bloggers, Lance Ponder, on Creative Science.
Lance is an active Christian author publishing regularly on various blogs including the Impact blog here on BIBLE.ORG.
OUT AND ABOUT
1- Please remember your bible.org staff as they participate in the Kingdom Agenda/First Ladies Conference between Oct 3-7. Your staff will be exhibiting and sharing with pastors the bible.org Ministry and showing the NET Bible Study Environment. Pray for us as we use this as a way of sharing the vision to get God's Word to everyone on the planet through the Internet.
2- The time to register is NOW for The Women of Influence Conference at Dallas Theological Seminary to be held on Nov 14th. This is a one-day conference equipping you to reach, lead, and impact those in your sphere of influence. Your bible.org women’s leadership team will lead up a workshop titled: “Got an Internet Connection? You can have a ministry”. Click here to gain information on this marvelous conference.
Status on 2 Projects supported by your 2010 donations
For more information and to help beta test this discipleship environment check out: Maturity Foundation Stage Note the MUST READ info links for fuller explanations.
If you are willing to start under these conditions and provide feedback. Tony Tucci, the project manager, will assist and interact with you through the process in this Bible.org Users Group For questions contact Tony here. ( Our target is to get at least 10 brave testers/co-labors)
MAILBOX LETTERS: Once again our hearts are rejoicing as we read your notes of encouragement to us. You are our Barnabas and we thank God for you!
From Joyce: Your article on facing death with faith was very special to me. Our dear friend is nearing death. He has served God diligently. I was searching for words of comfort and so enjoyed the message of Mr. Smith's funeral.
From Sandy who has recently suffered a 2nd stroke. She listened to a sermon by Bob Deffinbaugh and then took time to write to us: Having done the study myself, I had confirmation many times over, This is a site that teaches truth. I wept and am still weeping and thanking God for directing me to your ministry. Lots for me to listen to while I heal, and do my home PT to recovery. I know the time is short and the Lord will be coming, I so want to be found doing my labors for Him as joy. Working full with love, laboring hard for the profit only for the kingdom of God, it is no life to me to live it without His words moving into my own eyes to hear and trough me, to grow.
(Editor Note: Thanks Joyce and Sandy for these sweet and encouraging notes)
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Enhanced NET Bible mobile App- We have shared that your 2010 donations allowed us to hire a NET Bible mobile APP developer and we expect to announce the need for testers for it this month. Watch the home page. If you can't wait for our new app you can get the NET Bible on your mobile device from this page. -
Path to Spiritual Maturity (Pilot Testers Release, TESTERS IMMEDIATELY NEEDED!) God commands us to grow spiritually
(Eph 1:17-19) and to make disciples (Matt 28:19). We wanted to assist our readers around the world to be in obedience to those commands so we created a customized 5 stage “Path to Spiritual Maturity” environment. This five stage environment (Discovery, Foundations, Maturing, Disciplining, and Specialized) uses the 155 topic categories on Bible.org "search by topic list" . Selected articles, audio, and video, along with assessments, Bible reading/study, application, interaction, and more have been drawn together to provide a helpful framework for intentional spiritual growth. The first version of the foundation stage has been completed and needs testing. Disclaimer: This program is in Beta Testing. It has not yet received its full “Bible.org Ministry Seal of Approval.” It needs to be tested in real life discipleship situations. Frank and honest evaluation is needed to assess all aspects of the program. What we really need to know is how useful this whole program is with its specific discipleship purpose. What does this need to make it the best aid possible for the church in discipling? To that end we have questions that we need your feedback on if you are willing to take a group or an individual through this process.
FINANCIAL UPDATE**
As we enter the Autumn months and looking ahead we, as always, want to share how we are doing and what we are doing with your sacrificial gifts. We reported on 2 of those projects above and we hope you are as encouraged as we are. Please note below the graphic which shows where we are and our needs. We are once again thankful for how God is allowing us the privilege of using your gifts for the kingdom.We may not have the monies that many big ministries have but with each gift we move ahead into the internet ministry. We once again thank you for each and every gift which we know is sent from heaven to us. I would also point out our advertising revenue almost equaled our donation income. As we have shared, we do not run ads on the home page or the bible study environment as we always want to keep the bible study tool free from secular ads.
Note-** All income (Donations and Bible sales/revenues) are accounted for. The store has outstanding NET Bible debt and sales are being used to meet debt and store expenses. When there is a future profit those profits will be reported as a donation to the foundation. As you have noticed we have turned on limited Google ads to help in the revenue side and we appreciate you telling us the links to inappropriate ads which we immediately block..
OPPORTUNITIES
Looking to minister to the world from the keyboard of your computer?(Volunteer with the opportunity to move to a paid position)
- Volunteers/Interns needed:
- We are making slow progress on the Chinese NET Bible project (CNET) because we lost the one technical person that could read and write Chinese, We desperately need a tech support person who knows perl and can read and type Chinese. If you have those skills Contact us.
- Several responded to our call for help: (1) to enhance our NET Bible online environment in Spanish and (2) our Sunday school teachers effort, but we still need someone to lead the effort. Maybe that is you? If you would like to explore leading the effort Contact us.
Blog News
Heartprints Blog welcomes Susan Greenwood, who hails from the fine state of West Virginia! Become acquainted with Susan by clicking here. Susan is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Spiritual Milestones, a must read book for parents who want to lead their children to Christ. The book offers insightful methods to teach your children about God, his love for us, and his gifts. Susan is also webmistress of Childlike Faith. Stay tuned to read her ideas and thoughts on childrearing the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Recently Sandi Glahn’s entry was found by Google. You can read her post on Tapestry where she discusses and gives ideas on Observations for Bible Study.
An author by the name of George Guthrie, in his ministry of “Read the Bible for Life”, chose to highlight Lisa Goodyears’ Heartprints blog titled: “Teaming With Parents To Build Strong Biblical Foundations."Start In The Early Years" ...
bible.org FORUM
Forum: The Forum continues to shine as bible.org’s Network ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time! Register on the Forum and meet the moderators. To whet your appetite here are two moderators for you to check out:
MikeC1956. His passion is Early Church History, Apologetics,and Men's ministry. Check out Mike’s posts on the Forum.
Gideon’s passion is God and His Kingdom, The Gideon’s International, family, friends, history, economics and literature. Gideon has many followers on the Word Association Game as well as other posts. Check Gideon’s recent posts here.
DECEMBER NEWSLETTER 2010
Bible.org: The Worlds Largest Bible Study Site on the WEB
Home of the NET Bible Study Environment and our new Beta NET Bible Study Environment
Inside Our Newsletter
- Fund Raiser Update
- Christmas Thoughts and Traditions
- Childrens Ministry
- Out and About
- Financial Update
- Pastors Newsletter
- Bible.org Gets a New Look
- News from Near and Far
- Social Networking ( Facebook, Blogs and Forums)
Bible.org Celebration and Fall Fund Raiser Update
We thank the Lord for his answered prayers and we celebrate his provision. We thank our matching fund donor and all you who donated to the Fall fund raiser. We asked God to raise up new donors that would help allow us expand the ministry across the Internet and help us staff the Chinese project and our 3rd world projects. God has answered our mutual prayers and HE gets the glory. We thought we would have the final result in by this newsletter but we are still waiting on mail sent by the deadline. We can praise him that we are close to our goal of using the available matching funds. Check the bible.org home page in the next 2 days for the final result.
For all those who donated $100 or more we will give you access to Galaxie.com 's 750 years of theological Journals within our new Beta NET Bible Study Environment . ( We are working to get this in place by 1 Jan 2011) Even though the matching funds offer is over, we will continue to offer this access for gifts of $100, for a limited time.
Christmas Thoughts and Traditions:
Christmas Thoughts: This is a special time of year and it seems that all of the world stops and celebrates. Although the world is busy in creating memories, recalling past Christmas events, joining others in decorating homes and feasting with friends and families, we at Bible.org are rejoicing in an early arrival of Christmas due to your incredible generosity. The Staff at bible.org extends to you a huge THANK YOU. Thank you for your sacrifices, prayers, continued encouragement, and the desire to join us in this marvelous journey.
Christmas Traditions: What do you envision when you think of Christmas, is it Christ or is it ideas from years past? Do you have a special tradition that you and your family do each year? Would you like to start a new tradition this year? Here are some ideas from the bible.org staff:
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Consider a new tradition such as giving the Ultimate Study Bible, a unique First Edition NET Bible and
- our new Christmas story on CD. (A scripture reading concerning the birth of Jesus Christ from The NET Bible®. The reading is illustrated with video topographical maps, the artwork of James Tissot (1836-1902) and background Christmas music from the “Keys of Christmas” CD by Larry Kent. )
- Check out the bible.org store for all of the ideas for your loved ones.
Christmas Ideas: While we are talking about Christmas, check out the many ideas offered on our new home page! Take a look at the new and improved bible.org site. Here are a couple of ideas to spur your holiday:
Do you have some "grinches" in your midst telling you that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas? Check out the thoughts on this article: Should Christians Celebrate Christmas by J. Hampton Keathley III which will surely help you change their minds.
How about those who want to question and challenge Is 7:14 and Matt 1:23 about the word "virgin"? Jeffrey Volkmer answers all of this and makes us want to shout from the housetops, God Has Been, Is, and Will Be With Us!
And last, rejoice with Martin Luther as you read his prayer: Dear Sweet Jesus
NEWS FROM THE CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
Often as we enter the busyness of December we talk about the traditions of our families and friends. Some of these are baking gingerbread houses and Christmas cookies complete with sugary frostings and toppings. We send Christmas cards with family photos; decorate a tree and put up lights. To help you prepare children for this special day with a bibllical perspective, The Children's Ministry has put together a December Advent Calendar for you to use. You can access, download and print your own copy.
Here's a snippet for you to see: 
Back to the Top
OUT AND ABOUT SHARING THE NEWS OF BIBLE.ORG AT CONFERENCES
The "Hat Lady" has had the joy and pleasure of doing some conferences in November. It has been her delight to meet so many new people who have not heard of bible.org! First was the DTS Women's Conference and then the ACSI (Assoc of Christian Schools International) . What a surprise to find that John Craig, the South-Central Director of ACSI had posted bible.org as a recommended resource in his newsletter ! We are so grateful for his promotion of bible.org. The "Hat Lady" will stay put for December but stay tuned as she branches out to new and exciting adventures in 2011.
FINANCIAL UPDATE**
At bible.org we are thankful for your continued support of the ministry. Next months report will include all the Fall Fund Raiser results. We are already thanking God and You for the very successful campaign which allows us to continue our focus of “Ministry First” and supplying trustworthy biblical material free for you to use in your ministry and personal study. God has richly provided each and every need that we have had this past year and we praise Him for his provision and protection. Our staff remains committed because we have seen His hand in your thankful offerings.
To Help us to harness the Internet for God, donate now by clicking HERE
Note-** All income (Donations and Bible sales/revenues) are accounted for. As store sales exceed store expenses those profits will be reported as a donation to the foundation.
Pastors we have a new newsletter just for you.
It is called Pastors' Notes and it really is for pastors only. It has encouraging notes, tech tips, inside information and specials just for pastors. To receive this newsletter login to your bible.org account, click on my account under your name on the right side, click on the edit tab, click on personal information, scroll down and make sure that one of the pastors boxes is clicked. We will be making a list, and checking it twice, to make sure that only pastors are on this list.
Bible.org gets a new look
Our team has been hard at work creating things like the new Beta Net Bible Online study tool, The NET Bible tagger and many other cool tools and widgets that you can use in everyday online life. This time we put our efforts into our look. By the time you are reading this we should have a new look on our site. Our Home Page is what changed the most but our whole site has a new look. We are trying to bring you as much information to your finger tips as we can. Don't worry if your not sure what to do or how to use it just click on the help button and we will have some instructions on how to get through it.
Please let us know what you think. Email us or take the survey at the bottom of the page on the right.
NEWS FROM NEAR AND FAR
The B
ible.org mailbox has been filled with news and yes checks for the Celebration Fund Raiser. What praises each day. You have brought such joy to this office!
Here is one special letter to show you how bible.org has been used just this month:
I just want to let the ministry know that it really helped to break down Eccles 11:1-6. I was having a rough day , asking God why do I feel like I am doing nothing with my time and life and why do I go through season that I am "busy" only to come back to that I have done nothing..... and when I got home , the Spirit was telling me to read Eccles and I just went through the notes that I had and came across Eccles 11:6. It really stood out to me. The Spirit told me to read another translation and that's how I came to your website! I read the whole break down and really did the study question....... It answered all my questions and stirred up the gift within me... Thank God for the ministry. Thank you for obeying God so those like me can stop playing it safe and take risk. Peace and blessings!
Thank you Loretta for your kind thoughts and excitement at finding bible.org.
FACEBOOK UPDATES: As of the end of Nov we are seeing an upsurge of users. The total is now up to 13,511 users on facebook. Here's just one comment posted that might encourage you to become a Facebook Fan and study the Character of God.
Posted by Sue as a challenge to all of us: Priceless is focusing on the character of God. I intentionally study the character of God on a daily basic. I have been so very much blessed in doing so. May the Blesser Himself bless our lives with His Presence continually.
BLOGS: The Tapestry Team has grown! We now have new sub bloggers. Be sure to check them out as new faces and new ideas are shared. The Heartprints Team has also grown. Soon, Ed Gossein will begin as a new children's ministry blogger. You can read his first entry blog come Dec. 3rd. The men's blog team, Impact, continues to challenge our thinking beyond this universe. Check out Hal Warren's ideas about Lucifer and the Scroll of Authority. Watch out Harry Potter, Hal has more excitement than you will ever know!
The bible.org forum continues to be the place where users can ask questions and get answers from other forum users as well as our dedicated volunteer moderators. Their are 10,213 members and they have posted over 80,150 posts on 7,570 topics. You will be able to see their latest posts on the updated front page as we automatically pull the latest forum posts and repost them to the bible.org home page check it out
The Staff and all our authors and volunteers at Bible.org wishes you and yours a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR
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